


tangled up, so in love

by guitarstrings



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Pining, and a bit of angst because why not?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 01:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guitarstrings/pseuds/guitarstrings
Summary: (She gets to wake up and sleep next to Veronica for countless more nights and mornings after that, a mess of tangled limbs and heartfelt smiles and gentle touches.And each time, Betty falls even more in love with Veronica, feeling untouchable every time Veronica says she loves her back.Like the universe can throw anything at her, and she’d be ready for it.Veronica proves herself right, too. What they have is the exception to the rule of the universe’s list of miserable things to randomly throw at Betty in an attempt to wreck her.And Betty sticks it to the universe. Hard.)In which Betty acknowledges her feelings for Veronica and pines for her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from "19 You + Me" by Dan + Shay
> 
> Also, I tried resisting watching Riverdale, but clearly that didn't work out seeing as I'm here now. As complete and utter trash for Beronica. Sue me.
> 
> I hope you guys like this one!

Betty can feel the sun creeping up outside her bedroom windows, brightening up her room and filling it with warmth she quite frankly isn’t prepared for just yet, not after the exhausting day she had yesterday.

She sighs and rolls over on her side, actively pretending not to have noticed that morning has come.

Because contrary to popular belief, she isn’t a morning person. That description is reserved for Veronica.

Speaking of Veronica…

Betty cracks open one eye, checking to see if Veronica’s still asleep.

Only to find she’s no longer in bed.

Other than that, it’s peaceful in her house for once, without her mother yelling at her to get up and stop being lazy.

(That’s one of the reasons she doesn’t appreciate mornings. Because somehow, they almost always start with her mother banging on her door and barging right in when Betty doesn’t respond within five seconds.)

Betty starts to wonder where Veronica has run off to, thinks of getting out of bed to find her.

Until…

“Wake up, sleepyhead!”

And _there’s_ Veronica, chipper and radiating as always. Despite her aversion to mornings, Betty finds herself smiling at the sound of Veronica’s voice; at her eagerness to start the day.

Veronica’s presence makes her house feel less dreary and a whole lot warmer, like _home._

Betty’s forgotten what that was supposed to feel like, or if she ever even felt it at all. If the happy memories she once had with her parents were a mere product of her imagination she conjured in her loneliness.

Not Veronica though. She’s the _one_ thing Betty’s sure of with the doubts and uncertainties running through her head.

“Give me five more minutes,” Betty groans, buries her head underneath her pillow.

“Five minutes? More like one more hour,” Veronica teases with a laugh, and Betty knows she’s right. If left to her own devices, Betty would most likely sleep through the day and wake up with a major headache with Veronica giving her a look that would say _I told you so._

She knows, because she’s done it once. After that, Veronica made it her personal mission to make sure it didn’t happen again.

“Give me coffee and maybe I’ll get up.”

“Coffee? After the insane amount of caffeine you had yesterday? No, absolutely not,” Veronica snorts.

Betty lifts the pillow from her head and stares groggily at Veronica. “Hey, I didn’t have that much!”

“Not that much. Right.” Veronica deadpans, rolling her eyes. “The five cups of coffee I saw in your garbage can beg to disagree.”

“Just one mug?”

One arched eyebrow and an unamused expression.

Betty tries again.

“One half?”

The eyebrow raises higher.

“Uh, one third?”

Another roll of the eyes with an amused shake of the head.

“Nope, no bargaining. I can’t have my best friend dying on me just yet. Not until we’re both old and gray and have lived happy, fulfilling lives together.”

Despite herself, Betty bursts into laughter at the bold declaration. It’s _so_ Veronica to say such things.

(Her stomach flips in somersaults and does a jiggly dance thing at the image of growing old with Veronica. The two of them sitting in rocking chairs, Veronica cracking jokes and being her theatrical self.

What was it Jughead said once?

_B & V forever._

Betty likes the sound of that.)

“ _God._ You’re being dramatic, Veronica.”

“A dramatic _but_ concerned friend,” Veronica corrects.

Betty sobers up, the laughter dying on her lips, silently agreeing with Veronica. Not many people care a lot about her, parents included.

(She’s not going to lie. It stings that the two people who are supposed to care about her the most barely even do.

There’s an ache, there’s _always_ probably going to be that ache.

But Veronica alleviates it, with her easy smile and the soothing brush of her fingertips against Betty’s skin. Grounding her, tethering her.

Keeping the darkness at bay, keeping her in check.

Bringing her back into the light.)

No response comes out of her mouth, but with the way Veronica is looking at her, it feels like she can tell, can _understand_ what Betty wants to say.

(She’s never felt that connection with anyone. Someone who can understand what thoughts are running through her head with a simple glance.

Veronica’s the first, and Betty thinks she might be the only one too.)

And then Veronica is sitting beside her, covering Betty’s outstretched hand with her own. It’s easy, it’s familiar.

It’s safe.

Betty tries not to mull over as to what this means, of what it could possibly lead to.

Of holding Veronica’s hand in public, their fingers twined together and swaying back and forth between them.

Of Veronica smiling before pulling Betty in for a kiss.

Of being _more_ than best friends.

“Hey, where did you go?”

Betty exhales, looks at Veronica straight in the eye. Fights off the overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss her silly.

Which would make them equal, because Veronica had kissed _her_ silly within the first day they’ve known each other.

The words are there on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be said. And if Veronica doesn’t stop looking at her like _that,_ all soft and unguarded and beautiful, Betty just might.

Veronica waits patiently, tapping a rhythm on Betty’s thigh.

Betty bites her tongue, thinking _not yet._ Maybe later, but not now.

Instead, she settles for a joke.

“Just wondering if I’ll survive one day without a drop of coffee.”

Veronica laughs, bright and clear that makes Betty proud of herself for being able to bring that lovely sound out of her.

(After everything Veronica’s been through, she deserves a break and have a laugh every now and then.

Betty wants to be the person who gives Veronica all of that and more.)

“You will, don’t worry,” Veronica says solemnly, though her eyes are twinkling with residual laughter. “I’ll make sure of that.”

Betty has no doubts that she will.

* * *

 

The morning after their next sleepover, Betty wakes up with Veronica tucked closer to her, face buried against the crook of her neck. The soft tendrils of her hair tickle Betty’s shoulder, breaths warm and even against her skin.

The solidity of Veronica’s body pressed against her own tempts Betty to pull her closer, until she can’t tell whose limbs are whose anymore.

Then Veronica murmurs something incoherent and nuzzles further into Betty, raven hair spilling over the pillows and her face.

Betty can’t resist it anymore. Turning over to her side (cautiously, because she doesn’t want to disturb Veronica), Betty allows herself the simple leisure of watching Veronica in her sleep.

(This isn’t the first time she’s done it, and it’s certainly not the last. In fact, she considers herself lucky Veronica hasn’t caught her during those times.

She wouldn’t know how to explain herself if Veronica asked her why she loves watching her sleep.

Well, Betty _does_ know, but she’s not sure she can bring herself to say it.)

Heart racing, Betty reaches out to brush aside Veronica’s hair, tucking the loose strands behind her ear. Her hand trembles, both at the excitement of touching Veronica’s hair and at the prospect of getting caught.

Something tells her Veronica wouldn’t mind. That Veronica would be completely, one-hundred percent okay with this.

It’s that thought that urges Betty to push a little further, the voice at the back of her head spurring her on.

“Betty?”

Betty freezes and drops her hand, missing the disappointment that shadows Veronica’s face at the loss of her touch.

“Uhm, hi?”

Chuckling, Veronica reaches out to tap Betty’s nose. “Hi back.”

She’s cute, with her drooping eyelids and goofy smile Betty likes to believe is only for her. Beautiful, even without make-up, in her full, natural Veronica Lodge glory.

_Especially_ without make-up.

“You’re beautiful,” Betty breathes out, too caught up in Veronica to stop herself.

But it turns out to be the right thing to say because Veronica smiles and blushes, fiddling with the collar of Betty’s shirt.

“Why, Betty Cooper, I had no idea you were such a charmer,” Veronica grins, fondly shaking her head.

“What can I say? I learned from the best.”

Smirking, Veronica leans in and presses a swift kiss against the corner of Betty’s mouth.

“Yes, yes you did.”

Stunned, Betty touches the spot where Veronica’s lips had been, replaying the sensation over and over again in her head.

(She imagines waking up next to Veronica every single day for the rest of her life. A mess of tangled limbs, sleepy smiles, and whispered _good mornings._

Veronica kissing her until they’re gasping for air and can no longer think straight.

Betty squashes the fantasy as soon as it comes. They’re friends, _best friends,_ and while they both love toeing the line separating _friendship_ and _dating_ with their admittedly more-than-friendly interactions at times, they’re just that.

Best friends.

Still, Betty can’t help but want more.

She’s hoping Veronica wants that, too.)

* * *

 

Somewhere in the distance, Betty hears a door opening and closing. She goes into panic and jerks awake, thinking it might be her mom and _oh no, she’s going to kill Veronica_ until she remembers they’re staying at Veronica’s place.

Relieved and reassured, she flops back onto the bed, unaware that Veronica had also woken up during her brief episode.

“Betty, you okay?”

Veronica’s chin is on Betty’s chest, calming her heart back into its steady, rhythmic beating. Fingers tracing her cheek and the outline of her jaw.

“Yeah,” Betty croaks, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “I woke you up, didn’t I? Sorry.”

“It’s good, don’t worry about it,” Veronica waves her hand with a lazy flourish, then lets it drop on Betty’s stomach.  

Betty nods wordlessly, opting to stare at the ceiling. Counts to ten in her head and controls her breathing.

Deep breaths, in and out.

She feels Veronica slide her hands underneath the covers, patting around to search for Betty’s which have already curled themselves inwards.

(It’s become her reflex to dig her nails into her palms when she’s unsettled – a habit that has become difficult to break.

As for Veronica, hers was to pull Betty aside, thumbs brushing over her knuckles and gently prying her nails away from her palms.

For whatever reason, Veronica accepts her for who she is, emotional scars and baggage and every crazy part of her life.

Betty considers herself the luckiest person alive for having someone care about her so deeply, without judgment and without expectations.

She’s already fed up of having to please everyone. Be the perfect girl, the perfect daughter. The perfect friend.

_“You don’t have to be careful around me, Betty. You’re allowed to make mistakes, we all are. And I can promise you, I’ll stand by your side no matter what.”_

Betty teared up when Veronica said those words. For the first time in her life, no one expected her to be able to hold herself together all the time.

She wasn’t being put on a pedestal, wasn’t being treated as something unattainable.

Veronica tells her it’s okay to fall apart, to let herself _feel_ something.

And Betty does. She lets herself feel _everything._

So much that Betty thinks she’s about to burst with the intensity and depth of her affections for Veronica.)

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah, yes. Thanks, Ronnie,” Betty swallows, fighting hard to contain the whirlwind of emotions stirring in her chest.

It’s hard, _impossible,_ to contain herself when Veronica’s head is on her chest and their fingers entwined under the sheets.

More than anything, she wants so badly to confess her feelings to Veronica. How she makes her head spin when she presses a soft, lingering kiss to her cheek.

How her heart does an erratic tap dance when Veronica smiles at her, tender and sweet and making Betty go _oh_ before turning to mush.

She wants to be brave and just- just let everything out.

(But then she remembers how _that_ turned out with Archie, and it’s enough to stop her dead in her tracks.

A small part of her says there’s hope, that there’s a chance Veronica might reciprocate her feelings.

The bigger part says she doesn’t.)

“Do you want to talk about it?”

God, how is she so _considerate?_

Betty releases a breath, squeezes Veronica’s hand. Veronica squeezes back, and it sends a thrill down Betty’s spine.

“I heard a door open and I thought it was-“

“-your mom,” Veronica finishes, nodding understandingly.

“Yeah. So that scared me, because we both know how she is with you.”

“Well, your mom can try every single trick she has up her sleeve to keep me away from you, but nothing, and I mean _nothing_ will work,” Veronica shrugs, giving Betty’s shoulder a little bump.

She makes it sound simple, like Alice Cooper is nothing more than a minor inconvenience to them.

(Which Betty knows she isn’t. Her mom can be ruthless if she wants to, but so can Veronica.

She trusts that Veronica can handle herself, but it doesn’t stop Betty from being anxious on her part. There’s a fine line between bravery and walking foolishly to your death when it comes to dealing with her mother, and she’s not about to let the latter happen to Veronica.

Except Veronica is anything _but_ foolish. She’s smart, cunning, a natural schemer.

And so is her mother, which is precisely why she was able to come this far.

Betty just doesn’t want her using her influence as a journalist to hurt Veronica.

She’d sooner willingly subject herself to her mother’s harsh, deprecating remarks about her life choices twenty-four seven than get Veronica tangled up in Alice’s web of deceit and exaggerated lies.)

“She can’t keep me away from you, either.”

Veronica lights up, and to Betty’s (pleasant) surprise, brushes their lips together. It’s feather-light and fleeting, Betty can’t be sure it happened.

But the smirk Veronica wears is all the proof Betty needs.

* * *

 

_Kevin: so. u finally telling veronica u like her 2nyt?_

_Betty: no. you do remember what happened when i told archie i liked him, right?_

_Kevin: girl, please! veronica kissed you literally w/in the 24 hrs u’ve known each other._

_Betty: yeah, but only because cheryl asked for some sizzle!_

_Kevin: ha! so ur admitting the kiss was H-O-T HOT._

_Betty: what? NO! i mean, veronica thought that was the sizzle cheryl was asking for._

_Kevin: excuses excuses._

“How do I look?”

Betty snaps her attention away from her phone, only to drop it when her eyes land on Veronica. The phone lands on with a quiet _thud_ on her mattress, her throat lodged and rendering her unable to form words.

_Oh, good Lord._

Veronica is wearing one of Betty’s flannel shirts, sleeves going past her fingers and the material hanging loosely over her small frame. The top three buttons are left open, exposing her collarbone and a little more skin along the way.

Betty gulps, her gaze flickering downwards, where a tiny, _tiny_ pair of shorts peek from underneath the flannel.

_Holy shit._

Wait, did that just slip out?

“ _Holy shit?_ Is that _really_ all you have for me, Betty Cooper?” Veronica laughs, clearly pleased with herself.

Can you honestly blame her for losing her eloquence when Veronica Lodge is in her bedroom, wearing her clothes and giving Betty a delicious view from all angles?

Shaking her head, Betty tries to clear her train of thought. She is _not_ going to think of… _other_ things concerning Veronica in her clothes.

(Or out of them. She is most definitely _not_ thinking of such things.

And she is not thinking of Veronica swiping her clothes off the floor to slip them on, either.

…

Fine. You caught her.)

Damn Kevin and all this talk about _sizzle._ And damn Veronica and her overflowing confidence.

“You look-“ Betty clears her throat, waves her hand vaguely. “You look good in my clothes, V.”

_Incredible. Amazing. Hot. Smoking._

By the mercy of the heavens, she manages to control herself from listing them off out loud. Gawking is bad enough, she doesn’t want Veronica to think her a creep.

At least not any more than she probably already does.

“Thanks,” Veronica grins, oblivious to the ongoing internal conflict Betty is experiencing. “I’ve been wanting to switch up my style, actually. Think I can borrow this for a while?” she asks, gesturing to Betty’s shirt.

“Yeah, sure. Of course,” Betty nods, still distracted by the spectacle of Veronica Lodge in her clothes (which aren’t even designer, but who cares? Veronica looks _fantastic_ in anything).

“Great! Thanks for being a magnificent best friend, B,” Veronica says warmly, eyes locked on Betty’s.

At that, Betty’s heart sinks. Right. _Best friends._ She was crazy for thinking she could start something beyond that with Veronica.

(The numbing sensation of Archie’s rejection comes crashing down on her, only this time it’s much, much worse.

It’s her fault, for diving in too deep, headfirst, into Veronica. For taking the leap from the highest cliff and right into the deep, dark abyss.

She should have stayed put, shouldn’t have allowed herself to explore the idea of being _with_ Veronica.

Shouldn’t have allowed herself to hope, the way she did once with Archie.

And now it’s come back to gnaw and tear away at her.)

“Betty? Are you okay?”

Too wrapped up in her internal struggle, Betty didn’t notice that Veronica had already climbed up on the bed. Ignoring the painful constricting in her chest, she forces a smile, but she can tell Veronica isn’t buying it.

“I’m- yeah, I’m perfect,” Betty laughs, strained and hollow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You don’t look like you’re okay,” Veronica frowns, unconvinced. She casts her gaze down, hair cascading into waterfalls and covering her face. Betty pushes back the urge to stretch her fingers and brush it aside. “Did I say or do something?”

Well, great. Now she made Veronica upset. _Way to go, Betty Cooper!_

“Wha- no! It’s not- you didn’t do anything, I swear.” Betty runs a hand through her hair, trying to control her increasing agitation with herself.

“What, then? Did something happen?”

If they weren’t in Betty’s house, she’d have jumped down from the bed, grabbed her bag, and ran away. Escape from this impossible situation she put herself in. Away from Veronica – outrun her _feelings_ for her.

“It’s nothing. Let’s just forget it, alright?”

“It’s _something_ if you’re bothered a lot by it.” Veronica folds her arms into herself, a mask of hurt etching into her features for half a second before melting away into one of conflict.

This is _not_ how Betty anticipated their night to turn out. She expected movie-watching, the usual teasing and bantering, Veronica being touchy-feely with her and insisting she try this and that.

Not- not _this._ Not Veronica wearing a guarded expression and distancing herself from her.

(It’s almost funny, Betty thinks. Funny how she once thought nothing could hurt her more than Archie not reciprocating her feelings.

Clearly, she was wrong.

Because _this?_ Veronica looking small on the other side of the bed, hugging herself tightly and refusing to meet her eyes?

It hurts more than Betty could ever imagine.

It hurts like _hell._ )

“I don’t know if I can tell you,” Betty croaks, hating how raw she sounded in that moment.

But what she hates more is the fact that she hurt Veronica.

Finally, Veronica lifts her head to cast her a hesitant glance. “Betty, you can tell me anything. But if you don’t feel ready, then I’ll stop here.”

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Betty furrows her brows and picks at her sweater. A nervous habit of hers, Veronica tells her once.

“I just- I don’t want things to get weird between us,” Betty says quietly, more to herself than to Veronica.

“Betty, I don’t see how that can ha-“

_Screw it,_ Betty thinks, as she jolts forward to hold Veronica’s face and pulls her in for a kiss, consequences be damned.

_God,_ she can be so impulsive, so _reckless_. And sometimes she feels stupid for the times she acted without thinking things through, because she’s supposed to plan things out and follow the steps with painstaking care.

(But _God,_ all that flew right out the window the moment Veronica Lodge walked right into her life.

Veronica Lodge, with the confident tilt of her chin and self-assured steps.

Veronica Lodge, who can be ruthless when it comes to dealing with those who dare harm the people she cares about.

Veronica Lodge, who can be just as sweet and gentle and _vulnerable_ like everybody else.

Veronica Lodge, who _cares_ so much, who still has so much _love_ in her despite everything she’s been through.

Veronica Lodge, who came like a whirlwind and tore Betty’s heart right out of her chest in the blink of an eye.

And Betty doesn’t want it back. She doesn’t want her life before Veronica happened back.

She can’t even bring herself to try and remember what her life was like before she met Veronica.

Nor does she want to, either.)

Veronica melts into her, arms wrapping around her neck as their lips meet again, and again, and _again._ Betty’s head is spinning, heart hammering, and all the blood rushing straight to her head.

Somewhere during the kiss, Betty swears she hears Veronica make a noise akin to approval at the back of her throat.

Not that she’d know, because she hasn’t had much experience in kissing people. So she relies on her instinct, on Veronica’s reactions to guide her through this.

She’s not sure how long they’ve been kissing, but Veronica pulling away first tells Betty it’s gone on long enough.

Veronica sighs and touches their foreheads together, eyes fluttering shut at the contact. Betty does the same, free of the crushing weight that had been pressing against her chest.

It feels so damn good to finally let all that out.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Veronica murmurs, thumb stroking Betty’s cheek. She doesn’t sound hurt or angry, much to Betty’s relief. Just confused.

Betty bites her lip, shoulders slumped in defeat. “You know how weird and messy things got between me and Archie after I told him how I felt. And the thought of that happening to us scares me a lot.”

“Oh, Betty.” Veronica shakes her head, and up close, Betty can see how gorgeous her eyes are.

(She could get lost in them forever, in _Veronica,_ and she wouldn’t care.

But to be perfectly honest, she already has.)

“Just- if you don’t feel the same way, promise this doesn’t change things?”

_Promise you won’t change the way you look at me._

“What if I _do_ want them to change?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Veronica takes Betty’s hand and laces their fingers together, a delicate smile gracing her lips, “what if I want to date you?”

For a good second, Betty swears her heart stops. Jaw dropping and working up and down as she processes what Veronica just told her.

(It almost feels like a dream she’ll wake up from any second now, because the universe has seemed so hell-bent on making her life a living hell and she’s pretty sure this is another of its cruel jokes.

Make her believe Veronica feels the same way about her for one second, then rip it right out of her hands the next.

She can’t promise she’ll stay sane if that were to happen.)

“Betty?” Veronica prods carefully, jerking Betty back into reality.

“I- really? You want that?” Betty asks, fighting hard to keep her excitement from pouring out.

“For someone so smart, you can be pretty oblivious sometimes,” Veronica pokes Betty’s side, eyes bright with mirth. “And if you didn’t notice, I did kiss you back. So yes, Betty Cooper, I want to date you.”

The dam breaks at last. Betty lunges forward again, only to be stopped by Veronica grasping at her shoulders.

“But before that, promise _me_ one thing,” Veronica tilts Betty’s chin, holding her gaze. Betty nods. “Don’t bottle up all your feelings inside. If anything’s wrong, tell me. If you want to talk, of course. If not, then I’ll wait until you are. Deal?”

Betty doesn’t even have to think about it. “Deal,” she says resolutely, and Veronica smiles in satisfaction.

“Good. Now get back here.”

Kissing Veronica for hours on end isn’t what Betty had in mind for the evening, either, but it’s the most satisfying way to put a stop to the roller coaster of emotions she’d subjected them both to.

(She’s happy, and undeniably so. It’s a terrifying thought, because she’s never felt this way before. Things have rarely ever gone her way, and if they do, they start going haywire at some point in the future.

But right now, she’d like to hope that what she has with Veronica won’t go down the same path.

Veronica assures her they won’t, that they’ll be _the_ exception to the rule.

Betty’s going to make sure to stick it to the universe.)

* * *

 

(She gets to wake up and sleep next to Veronica for countless more nights and mornings after that, a mess of tangled limbs and heartfelt smiles and gentle touches.

And each time, Betty falls even more in love with Veronica, feeling untouchable every time Veronica says she loves her back.

Like the universe can throw anything at her, and she’d be ready for it.

Veronica proves herself right, too. What they have is _the_ exception to the rule of the universe’s list of miserable things to randomly throw at Betty in an attempt to wreck her.

And Betty sticks it to the universe. _Hard.)_


End file.
